Wounded
by Evil-Sorceress
Summary: RETITLED Gokudera's way of dealing with Tsuna's death is making the Rain Guardian worry. No Yaoi, just friendship. Swearing in Italian warning


I had to write my own version of this... I just had to. xD

-s2-

Lighting flashed like a camera taking pictures of the world below. Shadows scurried into small corners in fear that they would be seen by the angry storm every time there was a flash. Small animals fled to their homes to escape the heavy rain fall and the frightening rage of the thunder. As the wind blew against the trees they were forced into a dance, the branches swayed and some of their leaves fell off to be taken as hostages in the gusts of air. No one was out walking about; instead they were making themselves comfy in the warm and safety of their houses. All except for one...

Gokudera Hayato, was sitting on the swing in the park, a half finished cigarette hanging loosely between his lips. The shirt he was wearing was left undone and his tie was untied, hanging off his left shoulder. He was soaked from head to toe, but he didn't care, nor did he really notice. Emerald eyes stared unfocused at the gravel under his feet. His mind was going through the events that happened just a few days ago. A huge battle, the death of his boss, the funeral... He bit down on his cigarette at the memory.

With a grumble he leaned back, forgetting that he was on a swing and not a proper chair. With a small thump he fell on the ground, his legs up on the swing still and his gaze was turned up to the falling rain. Quickly finishing the last drag of his cigarette he tossed it to the side, not bothering to get up off the ground. The rain was soothing, he felt like he could fall asleep right where he was; and he would have if he didn't hear wet footsteps heading in his direction.

Through the blur of his fuzzy vision and the drops of water getting in his eyes, the storm guardian was able to make out a familiar figure. The lighting flashed, showing the smoking bomb who it was for a split second. Black hair, black outfit aside from the blue shirt under his jacket, and a sword was tied to his back. It was Vongola's rain guardian, Yamamoto Takeshi.

With a roll of his green eyes Gokudera reached into his pants pocket for his pack of cigarettes. When he took one of them out though he found out that they were ruined by the rain, the poison stick was limp, bent like a soggy noodle. He cursed and chucked that pack, hitting Yamamoto's leg, who was now standing beside him, looking down at him with a worried expression.

"Go get me some more..." Gokudera ordered; his words came out slightly slurred.

Yamamoto didn't move; he couldn't take his chocolate coloured eyes off his good friend and comrade. This was hard for all of them, but the storm guardian was taking this blow harder than anyone else. The last thing he thought he would see though was a drunken slob that hung out at the park.

Crouching down he went to pick Gokudera up off the cold ground, but was slapped away. The smoking bomb told him not to touch him and about how Yamamoto should be going to get him some more sticks of nicotine. Despite his complaints though, the rain guardian helped him up back on the swing. Once Gokudera was sitting upright he huffed and fell silent.

The rain started to come down harder and Yamamoto knew that he had to get Gokudera indoors and put in dry clothes. However, he also knew that Gokudera wasn't one to move unless he felt like moving. Even so, he had to try.

"Let's go back to the base, Gokudera..." He suggested softly over the loud hiss of rain hitting everything it could reach. There was no answer. The depressed guardian sat still on the swing with his head lowered, gripping the chains so hard that it made his knuckles pale. "You're not doing yourself any good out here. Come on..." He nudged Gokudera's shoe with his own. "...on your feet." After years of spending time with the proud, high tempered bomber, Yamamoto learned that he never responded to gentle conversations. Everything had to be serious with him. Yamamoto would be the one joking around to lighten the tension, but he had created a side to him that the other guardian would positively answer to over that time period.

"How did you find me...?" Gokudera questioned under his breath. His head never looked up; the puddles were far more interesting than the fellow guardian.

"Ryohei told me that you went to the bar after getting into a fist fight with Hibari." The rain guardian answered. "And from there, Reborn told me you left, heading east. I continued down in that direction and when I past the park, even though it was hard to see, I found you."

"Well... go and forget where I am..." Finally, Gokudera stood up and started to walk. To Yamamoto's frustration however, the storm guardian was walking the opposite way from the route they take towards the base.

Grabbing Gokudera's wrist, Yamamoto started to pull him in the right direction. Of course, the other guardian was full of protest, but was too drunk and tired to get out of the swordsman's steady grip. "Vaffanculo! Affanculo!" Gokudera cursed at his native tongue. Eventually, about half way back, Yamamoto lost his cool.

"Don't you see what you are doing to yourself?" The loud bellowing caused Gokudera to flinch. He never heard the rain guardian yell before. "If you want to go out and wallow in depression, then fine by me!" He released his hold on the other. "To think that you were Tsuna's right-hand man... What would Tsuna say if he saw you like this?"

That hurt; Gokudera stared at his feet, his body shook a little as he thought about it. Yamamoto didn't want to have to go there, but he realised that this was the only way to get through to the smoking bomb. He continued, "Instead of punishing yourself for not protecting him, why don't you think about what Tsuna wants for us! Do you think he would like to see you all depressed like this; wasting yourself away hoping that you can make yourself feel better with alcohol?" Yamamoto knew that everyone had their own way of dealing with their loss, but he also knew they had to watch out for one another. Gokudera's way was unhealthy and it worried him.

He blinked and the next thing he knew Gokudera was on his knees screaming; letting out all the sadness, frustration and pain all in one go. Yamamoto was in shock at the sight, but at the same time he was glad. It was about time the right-hand man let out all his emotions that he bottled up inside himself. He knelt down and held Gokudera's shoulders before pulling him into a hug.

"It's okay..." Yamamoto whispered. He wasn't good with comforting people, but he couldn't just let his friend cry on the ground alone. "You aren't at fault, none of us are." After a very short while, Gokudera calmed down and Yamamoto felt like something was off. He pulled away and noticed how pale Gokudera was. Reaching up to place his hand on the other's forehead, he found that Gokudera had a fever, and a high one.

Pulling Gokudera to his feet he started to pull him along again. "We have to get you inside." Now that the chain smoker was no longer resisting it was easier to move, however, Gokudera was slow. They were close to one of the entrances to the base so Yamamoto stopped and bent down, scooping his comrade up on his back and rushed for the last bit of the way. From this action he realised that Gokudera was really light. To add to his worry, Gokudera's fingers were completely waterlogged from being out in the rain. He was in a worse condition that Yamamoto had thought.

Once he got them inside he hurried to his room, seeing that it was closer than Gokudera's room. He put his friend down on the floor, he would have put him on the bed, but because he was soaked to the bone he figured he had to get the chain smoker in dry clothes before putting him under blankets. Quickly, he rushed over to the bathroom and grabbed two towels. One he put on Gokudera's head to dry his hair, and the other one he put to the side.

"Gokudera..." He murmured. "We need to take these off." Yamamoto tugged at the storm guardian's shirt and pants to show what he was referring to. He stared into Gokudera's eyes, they were unfocused and half shut. Yamamoto wasn't even sure if he had heard him. He figured he was going to have to do this himself. With a sigh he unbuttoned Gokudera's shirt and tossed the damp piece of clothing aside. He used the towel he placed next to him to dry off and warm the wet skin. He didn't hesitate to pull off the wet dress pants and boxers. He wrapped his friend in the second towel and left him for a moment to get some pajamas. He dressed Gokudera properly and picked him up to finally place him down on the bed. "Gokudera...? Can you hear me?" He asked.

The storm guardian looked up at him and nodded slightly. Now that he was warmer Yamamoto was able to notice the pink blush on the other's face. He wasn't sure if it was from the drinks he had earlier, or from his fever; he assumed it was from both. "How many drinks did you have?" Of course, he already knew that Gokudera had had twenty-seven shots of hard liquor, Reborn told him; but he wanted to hear it from the guardian. Gokudera didn't answer though.

With a sigh, Yamamoto sat on the edge of the bed. "Gokudera... Talk to me." I wondered if he was going to get anywhere with the hurricane bomber, but he was going to try. "Tell me what happened with Hibari."

There was a moment of silence, but Gokudera did speak up this time. "He called Jyudaime weak... For dying the way he did." Yamamoto watched the bomber's emerald eyes narrow in anger. He looked up at Yamamoto. "What right does he have to call Jyudaime 'weak'? That bastard needed someone to shut his mouth!"

Yamamoto chuckled sadly. It's been a while since he's seen Gokudera's temper rise up like this. It was like they were middle scholars again. He heard the other ask him what was funny. "Sorry, sorry." He murmured. "Gokudera, just ignore what he says. Don't let fights start, okay? As Tsuna's right hand man, he is depending on you to keep things in check."

"I..." Gokudera huffed and slowly nodded. "It's... just hard..." He rolled over and faced away from the rain guardian.

"I know." The swordsman stood up. "Think it over though. What would Tsuna want?"

A mumble came from the chain smoker. "For... all of us to be happy... He would want to see us all laughing and having a good time despite the fact that he's no longer here... He would want us to protect what he can no longer protect." He paused for a while. "Yamamoto... Thank you..."

Yamamoto smiled brightly. "No problem. I would give you something for that fever but because of all of those drinks you had, you're going to have to sleep that off first." He knew Gokudera was going to have a tough morning. Hopefully he would remember tonight. If not, he'll remind him; after his hang over. The last thing Yamamoto was a stick of dynamite down his throat.

He walked over to the door and turned off the light. "I'll sleep in your room for the night, I guess." He chuckled. "I better not see you like this again though. If I do, I'll beat you out of your depression."

Gokudera smiled and looked over at Yamamoto. "I'm sure a lot of the guardians would love to do that... I'm guessing I pissed off a lot of people today."

With one last chuckle, Yamamoto nodded. "Go to sleep. And good luck tomorrow morning." He waved his hand and left the room.

Gokudera watched Yamamoto leave before closing his eyes. "Gomen nasai, Jyudaime... I didn't mean to worry you..."


End file.
